Draft appliance and the like



Oct. 13, 1931. c. E. CARPENTER DRAFT APPLIANCE AND THE LIKE l Filed Sept. 27. 1928 mw. mm. x* 5% N0 M..

Patented oci. 13', 193i Unirse STA TES CHARLES E. CARPENTER, on omessa-immers r Y DRAFT Ari-Linnen AND fririi.Liniey .Y

Applclationwled September 2'?, 1928; Serial NolA .ltilllh This invention Ihas to do -withcertain improvements in draft riggingy for'railroad cars and' thellike. Tlieinventlon has to do with the constructionofthev draft rigging as ay 5 avhole but it has referenceparticularly to iinprovementin the rmeans for bufiingand taking up the recoil and shock incident thereto.

This invention has reference, amongstother tliings,=to improvements in the friction cre-y ating devices whereby the energy of the recoil is dissipatedin the form of friction, withv consequent generation vof heat.V This heatis, of course,- proinptly dissipated into the sur`- rounding parts vand the atmosphere.

-V One object of the invention is to lprovide a friction devicewliich will befvery effective in its functionand whichv will -be capable ofV promptly dissipating a large amount of energy within a relatively small space.

` In' connection with theV foregoing,

object is to providean arrangement whereby the friction willbe steadilyincreased as ther amount of movement of the coupler increases,- 1 thereby producing an increased resistance to` This will also Y liurtherf coupler movement.

assi-st inbringing about a rapid dissipation of the energy of thefrecoil.

A further-object of the invention is tol pro vide an arrangement such that a very smooth and' effective operation'will be insured, thus still/further eliminating unnecessary shock and providinga more satisfactoryfoperation.

Another object of tlielinventionis to provide. a draft rigging construction of simple!` 'fermrand one which can be lmanufactured relatively cheaplyl and at the' same time built into a very rugged and substantialformof structure.

Affiirther obj ect of the invention relates absorbing devices are located between the framebars. This wi-llbring the entire struc- Y "iure into a relatively smallcompass and great:-

ly facilitate application ofA the.l same 4 to ther standard car. construction.

` A further object of the invention relates to the provision of animprovedconstruction such. tliatthe. .creation of the -Lfrictionfor ab-"i a further Y "to the provision of an improved construction of draft rigging in 'which vsubstantially all of the operating and friction-creating and'.v`

ysorbing the energy of'. therecoil isco-incident with the tendency .to restore the draft appliance and coupling member to the central position when the pull or push on the coupler is discontinued.

Otherobj ects and uses ofthe invention will appear from a detailed description of the 9 same which consists inthe features of eonstruction andcombinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings: Figure 1 shows a horizontal plan viewyof a draft appliance embodying the features of the l present invention, ythe parts standing in their central or neutral position Fig;v Qshowsa longitudinal section taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 look ing in the direction of the arrows Fi'gz showsv a cross section onthe'line 3,-3 of Fig.l 1 lookingv in the ydirection'of` the arrows;

rig.

of Fig. 1 looliing inthe direction' of the' arrows; f

Fig. 5

shows a perspective view of one of..

the centering or wedging blocks which are lof cated at the ends of the movable box or hous-` ing; and f Figc@ shows-a perspective viewi'of one of the comp anion friction blocks.

Referring-,first to Fig. 1 the central floor sills or lframe barsof the Carframexare -v shown at 7 and-8.

yThey are usually spaced' a definite distance apart which is a standard distance vin most car constructions. I have` illustrated top andbottom plates19 and 10 eX to them.. solasv to f extendinghousing within whichy the draft `f appliances are located. Y I y Within this housing thereis located'a U shaped bracket'memberf 1 1 having thejtop` and bottom flanges 12and 13 joined together f tending across the sills7 and 8 and secured 4 shows a cross section on the line 444 -5 establishy Va longitudinallyim f lugs by vmeans of for the necessary@ lateral swings ofthe cou?.

lun

pler. A boxing or head 2O is set into the front end of the car frame7 having an opening 2l of sufficient size to take care of the lateral movements of the coupler.

Secured between the upper and lower arms l2 and 13 are the front and wedge shaped wedge blocks 22 and 23. One of these is shown in perspective in Fig. 5. lt includes a tongue 24 the front end of which is beveled to establish the friction faces 25 and 23. and the rear portion of the block is provided` with a cross member 27 which reaches practically the full width of the space between tne sills 7 and 3 (with the exception of the thickness of shoes which may be permanently secured to said sills.) v

At the rear end of the tongue 24 there are provided he additional tapered or beveled faces 23 and 29.

rlhe blocks 22 and 23 are preferably of the same construction and size and are interchangeable or reversible, Furthermore these blocks are preferably made of hardened steel or other material capable of withstanding the severe usage which will be imposed upon them in actual. service.

rl`he blocks 22 and 23 are preferably secured to the arms l2 and 13 by rivets or other pins 30 (see Figs. l and 2). Consequentl these blocks travel back and forth with the yoke ll. Located between the flange por tions 27 of the blocks 22 and 23 are the friction shoes 3l and 32.' These are pressed outwardly by springs 33 located between the corner portions and guided by pins 34. Said pins are either separate from the shoes or are divided so as to allow the shoes to move outwardly under the force of the springs. In the construction illustrated the pins are carried in bushings 35 located in the corners 0f the shoes.

The shoes 3l and 32 either bear directly against the sills 7 and 8 or against shoes 36 and 37 which are secured to the inner faces of the sills by riveting or otherwise. rlhe arrangement is such that the end flanges 27 of the blocks 22 and 23 travel inside of the shoes 36 and 37, but the shoes 31 and 32 travel with said end blocks. Consequently the back and forth movements of the coupler and of the yolie ll are communicated to the shoes 3l and 32 and the latter resist such back and forth movement due to the friction of their pressure against the shoes 36 and 37.

The tongue 24 of each of the bloclrs 22 and 23 is longitudinally slotted as shown at 33; and a lined pin 39 reaches through the corresponding slotted opening 33 and the end portions of said pin are secured to the sills 7 and 8. iis a matter of strength of construction and arrane'ement the ends of the pins 39 are extended through the sills and are received in the bushing bloclrs 40 and 4l which are riveted to the outside faces of the sills. Consequently said pins are very rigidly held against back and forth movements and there is provided a very strong construction capable of withstanding severe shocks. There is a pair of friction shoes 42 and 43 corresponding to each of the blocks 22 and 23. rhe shoes of each pair are centrally perforated as shown at 44 to receive the corresponding' pin 39 so that the shoes are held against any longitudinal movement but are allowed to slide back and forth towards and from each other. These shoes are provided with bevel faces 45 and 46 corresponding to ie bevel faces of the block 22 or 23 as the case may be7 so that as the said blocks are moved liacl and forth in harmony with the ce pler the wedge blocks 42 and 43 are subjected to corresponding and simultaneous forces of separation, or are allowed to move together as the case may be.

rlhe w e blocks are forced inwardly by heavy springs 47 placed on the pins 39.

The parts are so proportioned that when the coupler stands in the central position illustrated in Fig. l the wedge blocks of each pair are forced towards each other a maniinum distance and until their faces 43 come finally against the faces of the corresponding tongue 24. Any movement of the coupler in one direction or the other is then attended b v a wedging action at the one eno or the other of the draft appliance depending on the direction of such movement. For example when the coupler is placed under tension the blocks 22 and 23 will be moved towards the left in Figs. l and 2, thereby separating the wee blocks 42 and 43 at the left hand end and allowing the generation of a simultaneous heavy vfriction with the wedge bloc-lis at the right hand end. ln that connection it will also be noted that the tendency of the beveled faces 25 and 26 is to wedge between the outer ends of the blocks 42 and 43 so as to separate them and thus cause them to pivot about their central portions due to the force of the springs 47. rllhis will in turn wedge the inner ends of said wedge blocks more firmly against the bevel surfaces 23 and 29 to thereby increase the friction at this point.

From the above analysis it is perfectly evident that this arrangement is very ellicient for the generation of a maximum amount of friction.

Due to the heavy friction existing betweeny blocksl 22.1 and 231.5

It will also be noted that the ends of the wedge blocks are provided with stop faces or shoes which are adapted to come against companion stop faces 50 on the blocks 22 23 so as to completely arrest relative longitudinal movement at the extreme limits desired. Reference to Fig. l in particular shows that when the coupler is in the central position these shoes 49 are considerably separated from said stops 50, this amount of separay.tion representing the total amount of coupler f movement available in that direction before the parts will am.

It will be noted that by placing the collars or bushings 4() vand 41 against the outside ifaces of the frame sills I am able to establishv an ample clearance for: the accommodation of the wedge blocks as well as the springs 47 and at the saine time allow for a substantial amount of lateral separating moveinent'of the .wedge blocks in service. At the same-time this arrangement does not necessitate any serious cutting of the sills since it is only necessary to drill thevcenters for the accom-- modation of the pins 39.

'lVhile' I have herein shown and described only a single embodiment of the features of my presentinvention still I do not intend to limit myself thereto except as I may do so in the claims. 1

I claim:

l. The combination withtheY underfraining of a car including the central longitudinally extending parallel frame bars, of a bifurcated yoke movably mounted between vsaid frame bars for backward and forward movement, a couplerpivotally connected to the front end of said yoke, front and rear end blocks rigidly secured within said yoke and separated from eachother a distance to establish a box space between them, a pair of side friction plates located in said boX space and having outwardly facing friction faces for cooperation with' fixed friction faces on the frame bars, springs 'tending to separate .said

1side friction plates and force'them against said iiXed friction faces, said end blocks being rprovided with endwise projecting centrafl wedge lugs having wedge faces on the inner and outer ends of said lugs, there being longi- =tudinally extending slots in the wedge lugs,

transverse pins iLiXedly located with respect to the frame bars and extending through said slots, wedge blocks slidably mounted on saidl pins7 and having wedgev faces cooperating with the'wedge faces on the wedge lugs, and

f described.v

2. vThe ycombination with rthee underiram-`` f4 5 iiig of. a car vincluding the/:central:longitudes VinallyI extending :paralle'l' frame barsaofza :f

bifur'cated.` yoke movably` mounted between said frame 'barsi for backward and' forward?. movement.' a coupler pivotallyl` coniiecte'dvif tothe fronti end` of said .yokerfrontf'and;K rearvend blocks'rigidly securedfiwithin said-i yoke,; and separated fromeachcotherf a dis-:- tance `to Iestablish* a boxspa'ce between theni,` a; frictioni'devices within said ybox` spacerandc') travelling:withithefyokey meansi for friction-'f .f ally engaging the" friction: i devices: with the parallel-frame-barsfaforesaichsaid end blocks being provided with endwise-projectingfcenftral wedge; lugsi having y:wedge faces on the S5 inner .and :outer endsy ofsaidrlugsythere being -:y longitudinally extending slots in: thelfwedgev lugs,I transverse?` pins iXedly located .with 're-"- .spect to= the-i frame bars :andi 'extending-:.1 through'said slots), wedge-blocks slida'bly'f mounted on said pins-and vhaving .wedg-efacesw cooperating ,with tlieavedge4 faces ron'thecv wedge'l lugs, and :springs: :located Pbet-weenf rthe wedge blocksand the yframe'bars :and yservin to force thewedgezblocks towards leach other-5 .95 f

substantially las'described'-v-V.

8 The combination withtlieunderfram- 'f ing of a carincluding the central loi-igitudinally.extendingparallelnframebars; offa` bifur.-

cated :yoke niovably mounted: between* s.aid.ico-l framey -b ars 'forf back andffforthi mevementl-c`- a coupler-pivotally connecte/dto the frontend f' `of saidiyoke,l frontand -.rear:en=d blocksf-rigi dly secured. within said yoke-f and separated fromy eachv othera distance to establish-a fbo'X l.105 .i

space; betw`eenthem,a pair of. side. friction plateslocated insaidfboX space-.and having.; n outwardly facing friction .facesifor coopera.- l tion with fixed friction fa'cesfon-theV framewbars,.springsgtending yto-separate saidsidel 110 friction plates and force them. againsty said fixed friction plates; said end blocksA .being-1.kv provided with endwise vprojecting.- `,central Y wedge-.lugs having wedge. faces on saidflugsif.4

wedgeblocks'mounted for movement towards l 115 and from said wedge lugs, meansffvor` retaining said wedge 4blocks against movementparalleltof saidwedge.-lugs; .said -vwedge .blocksv having-wedgeyfaces cooperating 'withthe l.

wedge..faces -on `the ywedge lugs, and. springs 120 located .between `the wedge blocks ,and-the frame: bar-s and serving to i force. the ywedge i blocks towards -eacli other, vsubstantially aslv described. A

4. The'combinati on with the underframing i 125252 pivotally. lconnected 'to :thevfront end lof' saidv 130 yoke, front and rear end blocks rigidly secured within said yolre and separated from each other a distance to establish a box space between them, friction devices within said box space and travelling with the yolre, means for frictionally engaging the friction devices with the parallel frame bars aforesaid, said end blocks being providedwith endwise projecting central wedge lugs, having wedge f; faces on said lugs, wedge blocks mounted for movement towards and from said wedge lugs, means for retaining said Wedge blocks against movement parallel to said wedge lugs, said wedge bloclrs having wedge faces cooperating with the wedge faces on the wedge lugs, and springs located between the wedge blocks and the frame bars and serving to force the wedge blocks towards each other, substantially as described.

5. The combination with the underframing of a car including the central longitudinally extending parallel frame bars, of a member movably mounted between said frame bars for back and forth movement, a coupler pivotally connected to the front end of said member, front and rea-r wedge blocks rigidly secured to said member, said wedge blocks being provided with endwise projecting central wedge lugs having the wedge surfaces of the two lugs facing away from each other, there being pairs of opposite wedge faces on said lugs, wedge shoes mounted for movement towards and from said lugs, means for retaining said wedge shoes against movement l parallel to said lugs, said wedge shoes having wedge faces co-operating with the wedge faces on the wedge lugs, and springs serving to force the wedge shoes towards each other and into engagement with the wedge faces on the lugs, and spring pressed means carried by the movable member cooperating with the frame bars to exert a constant friction therewith during movement of the movable member, substantially as described.

G. rEhe combination with the underframing of a car including the central longitudinally extending parallel frame bars, of a member movably mounted between said frame bars for baclr and forth movement, front and rear end blocks rigidly secured to said member, said end bloclrs being provided with endwise projecting central wedge lugs, pairs of wedge faces on said lugs, said pairs of wedge faces on the two lugs being convex outwardly, towards the opposite ends of the device, wedge shoes mounted for movement towards and from said wedge lugs, means for retaining said wedge shoes against movement parallel to said wedge lugs, said pairs of wedge shoes having wedge faces cooperating with the vedge faces on the wedge lugs, said wedge faces on said pairs of wedge shoes being concave inwardly against the faces of the lugs, and spring means serving to force the pairs of wedge shoes towards each other to thereby CHARLES E. CARPENTER. 

